I'll Remember You
by RobotKat
Summary: A Tetsujin 28 fiction. Kenji Murasame goes to visit his family's graves, and isn't surprised to see who he runs into...


I probably shouldn't be out here in broad daylight like this…

I glance up the hill, seeing nearly endless lines of pale grey gravestones. The police department bought some rather cheap memorials for Ryu and Tatsu; at least they're big and noticeable. The little monuments are right under a tree. I can spot their names from metres away, and I nearly run up the hill to them.

My mother and father's plaques are directly behind the newer headstones, with mine foremost. It's almost reassuring, seeing our family put back together again, along with Tatsu. I hold up the bouquet of flowers in my right hand, making sure they aren't wilting yet. I put five flowers in front of all the headstones but mine. I stand back and stare at them. I feel lethargic. I would have loved to hear Takamizawa's explanation of where my body went.

"Well, how's the trip to America going?"

I turn around. Ryu is leaning on the tree, smiling at me. He slowly begins to look more and more amused at my reaction; I'm almost not surprised to see him drop in like this again.

"It's not going well." I turn to the ground. "I have to get there by stowing away in a merchant boat."

"Nothing none us haven't done before." He strolls over to my side and puts his arm around my shoulders. I can feel his arm clearly, as if it were a year ago and we were back on the houseboat.

"So, uh…" I look back up at him. He's gazing nonchalantly at the graves, too. My God, is this a hallucination? Did I even leave my apartment, or am I just having some disturbing dream? I look down at the bouquet ribbon in my hand and clutch it. It's real.

"How's everyone doing…there?"

"Mom and dad really like Tatsu," He says warmly. "Plus, all my old friends are there. Yours, too. Remember Shiyama?"

"Of course I do." He was one of my classmates who died from the firebombing. 'I wish I was dead' is probably the wrong thing to say here, but with all these people I miss…

Abruptly, I am pulled into a headlock. I start laughing right away; this hasn't happened in so long, and I've regretted shouting at him so many times for doing so. His arm releases, and he ruffles my hair. "You gotta stop beating yourself up about the Tetsujin accident, Kenji. You remember what I told you?"

"I certainly do." I stand back up again, meeting his eyes. "Brother, I think I'm gonna do fine in America."

"Well, sure! Can't blame you for wanting a fresh start…how's that English going?"

"I know how to ask where the bathroom is, and ask how much something is."

"Good job."

Ryu takes his arm off my shoulder and stands back, gazing at our parents' graves. "I'll see if I can drop in on you sometimes…it'll be a little less risky out there."

"Bring the family with you, Brother."

"I'll see what I can do."

Silence passes between us, but it feels more serene than worrisome. I reach into my trenchcoat pocket and pull out a new pack of cigarettes, which I bought on the way here, and set it down next to Ryu's grave flowers. I look back at him to ascertain that what I'm doing is okay. He looks surprised and a little delighted.

"I appreciate that, Bro…" His smile gets wider. It's not often he calls me that. I stand back up and dust off my knees.

"It's the least I can do. The PX Syndicate would've killed me if you never showed up."

"Well…" He sighs. "It was good while it lasted, wasn't it? The three of us, after the war and up to that Tetsujin thing…now, you got something big to deal with. You're the last Murasame on earth."

He looks skyward, and I do the same. "Tell everyone I miss them."

"Of course."

A moment later, I look back down; he's gone. Not surprisingly, the cigarettes have disappeared from his grave, too.

"Not surprising," I say to myself. I tie the bouquet ribbon onto a low tree branch. I probably should get out of here…

"Chief, where did you say the Murasame plot was…?"

A distant child's voice rings down from the bottom of the graveyard…it's Shotaro. And he's got the whole group with him. I jump off the hill our graves are on, landing in some tall grass. Takamizawa's shrill voice joins in with him. She knows I'm alive, but I don't want to run into her, of all people…

I run through the empty field, towards the road. I still have enough time to get away before they find me.

"Aw, now why aren't there any flowers on Kenji's grave?" Takamizawa complains.

"Look at this ribbon…" Chief Otsuka's there, too. Oh, great.

I stop at the road. Not too far away, an old man in a truck is coming by. I hold out my hand and he slows down. He opens the passenger's side door and is barely holding back laughter.

"Now, son…" He chirps. "What're you doing with a coat like that? It's pink, for landsakes…"

"I happen to find it comfortable," I give a quick glance to my trenchcoat again. "You going into Tokyo?"

"Sure am. Get in."

I do just that. He drives away immediately, and I throw a glance over my shoulder at the graveyard. Shotaro, Otsuka, Shikishima and Takamizawa are gathered at my family's plot, praying. Takamizawa is staring in my general direction.

Oh Lord, does she know? I panic for a moment, and then relax. It'd be hard for her to tell anyone if she saw me, anyhow.

I sigh and let my shoulders drop. I'll be in America soon…

Fin


End file.
